The initiative, which will be announced by the Big Lottery Fund today, will go towards people in areas including Ipswich and Waveney.

It has come from Talent Match, a £108m youth unemployment project launched by the Big Lottery Fund, which aims to help people aged 18 to 24 who are struggling the most to find career opportunities.

The money will be awarded to the project’s lead partner, the Prince’s Trust, which will then go towards helping young people who have been unemployed or out of education for at least 12 months.

Nat Sloane, England chairman of the Big Lottery Fund, said: “The funding announced today is a key step on a very exciting journey as it means the real work can now begin.”

John O’Reilly, director at the Prince’s Trust in central England, welcomed the funding.

He said: “The Prince’s Trust and all its partner organisations would like to extend a huge and heartfelt thank you to the Big Lottery Fund for this incredibly generous investment in young people.”

Andrew Cawthorpe, the head of public sector partnerships at the Prince’s Trust, and chairman of the Core Partnership Group in New Anglia, said: “Talent Match is an exciting new initiative supported by young people and bringing together the talents of many different organisations, all with the sole objective of supporting long-term unemployed young people to find a job.”